REPAIR OF THE HEART MUSCLE

Project leader: Prof Pieter A.F.M. Doevendans, PhD, cardiologist
                          University Medical Center Utrecht
Budget:            € 9.000.000
 

The outlook for heart failure
In the Netherlands alone, approximately 1 million people are affected by heart or vessel diseases. More than 120,000 of these people suffer from heart failure. Heart failure usually develops because heart muscle cells no longer function well or die. Heart failure is a serious problem that is rapidly spreading and drastically lowers life expectancy. On average, approximately half of all patients with heart failure die within three years. This makes the prospects for patients with heart failure worse than for the many patients with a malignant disease. Aside from the major risk of death, heart failure also causes other severe problems. For those who are afflicted, for example, it is nearly impossible to lead a normal, active life, and the required medical care becomes increasingly costly. Medication may offer a temporary solution but there is a great demand for a structural solution.
© BMM / Rogier Trompert Medical Art
Top
 

Strengthening and renovating the heart muscle
The solution to the problem lies in structurally strengthening the heart by applying healthy heart muscle cells and blood vessels. There are several types of cells and ways to deliver these cells into a heart. For example, bone marrow cells are now being injected via the coronary artery or applied directly into the heart muscle. Unfortunately the results have been insufficient. Recently, it has become possible to isolate so-called precursor cells from the heart and grow them into heart muscle cells. Under certain conditions, these cells can form new blood vessels and even pieces of heart tissue. In this project we will work on growing pieces of heart muscle tissue and developing carrier biomaterials. The idea is to lodge the pieces of heart muscle tissue in the carrier so they can be introduced with catheters to targeted sites in the heart. By varying the composition of the biomaterials used, cells can survive better, thereby contributing more effectively to the function of the heart muscle. The new technology still needs to be extensively tested, but the combination of innovative (bio) materials, tissue engineering and catheter techniques appears to be a feasible solution in the fight against heart failure.
Top
 

Partners
The following companies and institutes work together to make a success of SMARTCARE:
 
 
Top
 

Publications
  • van Oorschot AA, Smits AM, Pardali E, Doevendans PA, Goumans MJ. Low oxygen tension positively influences cardiomyocyte progenitor cell function. J Cell Mol Med. 2011 Dec;15(12):2723-34. Abstract
  • Sluijter JP, Doevendans PA, Goumans MJ. Letter by Sluijter et al regarding article, "Human cardiac stem cell differentiation is regulated by a mircrine mechanism". Circulation. 2011 Oct 25;124(17):e456; author's reply e457. Abstract
  • den Haan MC, Grauss RW, Smits AM, Winter EM, van Tuyn J, Pijnappels DA, Steendijk P, Gittenberger-De Groot AC, van der Laarse A, Fibbe WE, de Vries AA, Schalij MJ, Doevendans PA, Goumans MJ, Atsma DE. Cardiomyogenic differentiation-independent improvement of cardiac function by human cardiomyocyte progenitor cell injection in ischemic mouse hearts. J Cell Mol Med. 2011 Oct 18. Abstract
  • Noort WA, Oerlemans MI, Rozemuller H, Feyen D, Jaksani S, Stecher D, Naaijkens B, Martens AC, Bühring HJ, Doevendans PA, Sluijter JP. Human versus porcine mesenchymal stromal cells: phenotype, differentiation potential, immunomodulation and cardiac improvement after transplantation. J Cell Mol Med. 2011 Oct 5. Abstract
  • van der Spoel TI, Jansen of Lorkeers SJ, Agostoni P, van Belle E, Gyöngyösi M, Sluijter JP, Cramer MJ, Doevendans PA, Chamuleau SA. Human relevance of pre-clinical studies in stem cell therapy: systematic review and meta-analysis of large animal models of ischaemic heart disease. Cardiovasc Res. 2011 Sep 1;91(4):649-58. Review. Abstract
  • Pal A, Besenius P, Sijbesma RP. Self-sorting in rodlike micelles of chiral bisurea bolaamphiphiles. J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Aug 24;133(33):12987-9. Abstract
  • Liu J, van Mil A, Vrijsen K, Zhao J, Gao L, Metz CH, Goumans MJ, Doevendans PA, Sluijter JP. MicroRNA-155 prevents necrotic cell death in human cardiomyocyte progenitor cells via targeting RIP1. J Cell Mol Med. 2011 Jul;15(7):1474-82. Abstract
  • Ramkisoensing AA, Pijnappels DA, Askar SF, Passier R, Swildens J, Goumans MJ, Schutte CI, de Vries AA, Scherjon S, Mummery CL, Schalij MJ, Atsma DE. Human embryonic and fetal mesenchymal stem cells differentiate toward three different cardiac lineages in contrast to their adult counterparts. PLoS One. 2011;6(9):e24164. Full paper
  • van der Spoel TI, Lee JC, Vrijsen K, Sluijter JP, Cramer MJ, Doevendans PA, van Belle E, Chamuleau SA. Non-surgical stem cell delivery strategies and in vivo cell tracking to injured myocardium. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2011 Mar;27(3):367-83. Review. Full paper
  • Pal A, Karthikeyan S, Sijbesma RP. Coexisting hydrophobic compartments through self-sorting in rod-like micelles of bisurea bolaamphiphiles. J Am Chem Soc. 2010 Jun 16;132(23):7842-3. Abstract
  • Vrijsen KR, Sluijter JP, Schuchardt MW, van Balkom BW, Noort WA, Chamuleau SA, Doevendans PA. Cardiomyocyte progenitor cell-derived exosomes stimulate migration of endothelial cells. J Cell Mol Med. 2010 May;14(5):1064-70. Abstract
  • Smits AM, Ramkisoensing AA, Atsma DE, Goumans MJ. Young at heart. An update on cardiac regeneration. Minerva Med. 2010 Aug;101(4):255-70. Review. Abstract
  • Van Oorschot AA, Smits AM, Goumans MJ. Stem cells: the building blocks to repair the injured heart. Panminerva Med. 2010 Jun;52(2):97-110. Review. Abstract
  • van Vliet P, Smits AM, de Boer TP, Korfage TH, Metz CH, Roccio M, van der Heyden MA, van Veen TA, Sluijter JP, Doevendans PA, Goumans MJ. Foetal and adult cardiomyocyte progenitor cells have different developmental potential. J Cell Mol Med. 2010 Apr;14(4):861-70. Abstract
  • Noort WA, Feye D, Van Den Akker F, Stecher D, Chamuleau SA, Sluijter JP, Doevendans PA. Mesenchymal stromal cells to treat cardiovascular disease: strategies to improve survival and therapeutic results. Panminerva Med. 2010 Mar;52(1):27-40. Review. Abstract
  • Chamuleau SA, van Belle E, Doevendans PA. Enhancing cardiac stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes. Cardiovasc Res. 2009 Jun 1;82(3):385-7. Full paper 
  • Liu J, Sluijter JP, Goumans MJ, Smits AM, van der Spoel T, Nathoe H, Doevendans PA. Cell therapy for myocardial regeneration. Curr Mol Med. 2009 Apr;9(3):287-98. Review. Abstract
Top
 

Thesis
  • Spoel T van der, Optimization of delivery strategies for cardiac cell therapy in ischemic heart disease. PhD Thesis, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, 2012.
Top
 
      

Newsletter

Stay informed!

     

Subscribe Now

Contact

BioMedical Materials
Urmonderbaan 20/A
NL-6167 RD GELEEN
NETHERLANDS
T +31 (46) 702 2280
E info@bmm-program.nl
Last updated on 2013-05-16